Harp-action.



L. WoLP. y HARP ACTION.

, Patented July 30, 1912.

EIIIM A .2f L g www ww MMI KMW NTTED STATES ,ATNT FFTCE.

LEWIS WOLF, OF MCNABB, ILLINOS.

HARP-ACTON.

T all w/wm t may concern Be it known that I, LEWIS loLF, a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of the city of McNabb, county ofPutnam, and State of lllinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Harp-Actions, of which the following is a specification.

To produce a pure tone in any stringed instrument, the ends of thestring must be held rigidly, as any yielding or looseness will detractfrom the qualit-y of the tone. ln a harp, a condition arises where thetension of the strings is taken care of by the end binding posts and thesharping fingers engage the strings between the binding posts, thusthere is no appreciable ypull that will tend to make the sharpingfingers more rigid. On the contrary, any looseness in the mounting ofthe sharping nger spindle, either axially or radially, will cause thestring to rattle and thereby destroy the tone.

lt is the object of the invention to produce a construction that will atall times rigidly secure the sharping fingers under all conditions, andyet allow for free rotation in the bearings and the necessaryadjustment.

Vllith 'these objects in view, my invention consists in the combinationsand arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

My invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 isa sectional view on line fr a@ of Fig. 2, in which the spindle issubstantially shown in full and the remaining parts in section, Fig. 2is an end view of the sharping device, and F ig. 3 is a view on line y yof Fig. 1.

The preferred form of construction, as shown in the accompanyingdrawings, comprises a spindle 1 which is rotatably mounted in theoppositely arranged action plates 2 and 3 of the instrument. The ends ofthe spindle pass through inwardly tapering conical apertures in theaction plates, and conical bearings 4 and 5 are arranged at the oppositeends of the spindle to fit into said apertures in the action plates.

The disk 6 is fiXedly secured to the stem of the spindle, preferably inthe manner shown in Fig. 1, and provides a bearing conedwhich extendsinto the adjacent aper- Specificaton of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 24, 1.912.

Patented July 30, 1912.

Serial No. 673,175.

ture. A disk 7 is mounted upon the eX- ternal face of disk 6. Arcuateslots 8 and 9 are formed in the disk 7 and set screws 10 pass throughthe arcuate slots 8 and 9 and are threaded into the fixed disk 6,substantially as shown in Fig. 2, so that the disk 7 may be adjusted ondisk 6 to effect greater or less tension in the harp string engaged bythe sharping fingers 11, i 7hich are mounted on disk 7.

The opposite end of the spindle is provided with a hexagonal stem 12 anda threaded portion 13 at the end thereof. The conical bearing 5 isfitted over the hexagonal stem 12 and is slidable thereon. A cap nut 15is secured to the threaded portion 13 and is formed to contain a spring1.6 which presses the bearing 5 inwardly. ln this construction, theaction plates are resiliently embraced between the sloping surfaces ofthe conical bearings, and the pressure on the slidable bearing isadjusted by turning the cap nut 15. This will admit of the spindle beingmounted rigidly enough so that it will not yield to the vibration of thestring while the sharping fingers engage said string. At the same timethe spindle will rotate freely without undue friction. The wear of thebearings will be provided for by further adjustment of the cap nut. Thistype of bearing will also prevent the spindles from sticking, becausethe rotation backward and forward o-f the spindles will tend to looseninstead of tighten the bearings in the seats.

Vhile l have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable ofvariation and modification without departing from the spirit of theinvention. l, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the exact detailsof construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variationsand modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1. A harp action comprising action plates; a spindle rotatably mountedtherein; inwardly sloping conical journals arranged at the ends of saidspindle; and means for adjusting the distance between said conicaljournals, substantially as described.

2. A harp action comprising action plates; a spindle rotatably mountedtherein;

an inwardly sloping conical journal lixed at one end of said spindle; aninwardly sloping conical journal slidably mounted on the opposite end ofthe spindle; and means for axially adjusting the slidably mountedjournal, substantially as described.

3. A harp action comprising action plates g a spindle rotatably mountedtherein; an inwardly sloping conical journal lixed at one end of saidspindle; an inwardly slopingl conical journal slidably mounted on theopposite end of the spindle; a cap nut threaded to the external end ofthe spindle: and a resilient member arranged in said cap nut adapted topress said slidably secured journal inwardly, substantially asdescribed.

Ll. A harp action comprising action plates; a spindle rotatably mountedtherein; a disk externally secured to one end of said spindle; a conicaljournal extending inwardly from said ixed disk; a movable disk arrangedon the face of said lixed disk; fingers secured to said movable disk;arcuate slots in said movable disk to accommodate rotary adjustment oitsaid movable disk on said firstI disk; set screufs, adapted to securesaid .movable disk, passed through said arcuate slots and threaded intosaid fixed disk; an inwardly sloping conical journal slidably mounted onthe opposite end of the spindle; a cap nut threaded to the external endof the spindle; and a resilientmember arranged in said cap nut adaptedto press said slidably secured j ournal inwardly, substantially asdescribed.

ln testimony whcreoi l have signed my name to this specification in. thej )rcscnce ot two subscribing witnesses.

LlBlVlS WOLF. lllitnesses MARY Sin'nan'r, JOHN M. McNAnn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

